Abstract: Objective To investigate protective effect of lycopene on renal damage induced by chlorinated mercury.Methods The rats were treated with 40 mg/kg lycopene by gavage and subcutaneously injected with 8.8μmol/kg chlorinated mercury once a day for two days.The contents of glutathione(GSH),malonodialdehyde(MDA),superoxide dismutase (SOD),glutathione peroxidase(GSH-Px)in renal cortical,blood urea nitrogen(BUN),urinary protein,alkaline phosphatase (ALP),β-N-acetyl-glucosaminidase(NAG),lactate dehydrogenase(LDH),and Hg in urine were determined.Results In comparison with the high-dose chlorinated mercury group,nephrotoxicity in the group of lycopene pretreatment was reversed.The activities of NAG(103.73±21.79),LDH(113.19±23.74)and ALP(73.64±21.51 U/gcr)decreased significantly in urine of the rats.The content of the urinary protein decreased to 4.40±1.12 g/g Cr.and the content of GSH and MDA decreased to 45.33±5.90 and 1.03±0.12μmol/g pro.The activity of the SOD and GSH-Px increased to 39.94±6.04 and 85.62±12.68 U/mg pro in rats kidney.In addition,BUN in serum dropped to 15.93±9.36 mmol/L.All of differences were statistically significant(P<0.05 forall).Conclusion Lycopene have protective effect on Hg-induced toxicity.